Legacy Fund
Riverview First United Methodist Church was founded in 1846—the very first Methodist church in Hillsborough County, Florida. In a couple of years, we will be 175 years old. We have been serving the Riverview community from our corner at Riverview Drive and U.S. 301 South for several generations.
As our church building and grounds continue to age, (along with many in our congregation), we recognize that soon many major repairs will need to be made. The roofs of our sanctuary and our youth building will need to be replaced sometime within the next few years. Our air conditioning systems are failing with increased frequency, and replacement parts for these units (installed before 1975) are becoming harder to find. Dead trees need to be removed, and many of our large oaks need to be trimmed throughout the property. Our wish list for future improvements include adding a bathroom in the sanctuary building and a playground area for our children.
Accordingly, the Finance Committee and the Trustees have created a Legacy Fund—a savings account held at the Florida United Methodist Foundation in Lakeland. We have pledged to add $100 a week to the Legacy Fund. We have an initial goal of raising $25,000 to replace our sanctuary roof within five years.
Our regular general fund is used to pay staff salaries, to fund programs like VBS and children and adult education, to pay our apportionments and other connectional obligations, and to pay our utilities and routine maintenance. We also have a dedicated building fund which we use to make emergency repairs, which recently have included air conditioning repair, and significant repairs to the septic and plumbing systems at the parsonage.
The Legacy Fund is over and above these funding sources. Its purpose is to provide a savings vehicle to help us meet anticipated future buildings and grounds improvements. It is not a replacement for the other funds, but an additional way for our members to commit a portion of their treasure for the future survival and growth of our church.
We are asking that everyone occasionally designate a little extra in their offering envelope towards the Legacy Fund. We are looking to increase our overall giving by about $100 per week over our average weekly giving of about $4,000—an increase of about 2.5%. The Legacy Fund is also a way for our older members to designate a behest as part of their estate planning.
We are all looking forward to 2021 when RUMC can wave its banner high at the Florida Annual Conference as we will celebrate 175 years of continuous service to the Riverview community.
Sunday Services
Early Worship Service,
8:00 AM
Sunday School, 9:00 AM
Relationships/Refreshments, 10:00 AM-10:25 AM
Worship Service, 10:30 AM
Hispanic Worship Service
12:00 Noon
Rev. Louis Telcy, Pastor
Norma Encarnacion, Lay Pastor, Hispanic Congregationn
Here at Riverview First United Methodist Church, it is our mission to win people to Christ, to train believers to become disciples, and to send disciples to impact our community and the world for Jesus Christ.
Breakfast at our New Worship Service
Our growing 8:00 AM worship service will now include a continental breakfast. This service is informally held in our Fellowship Hall. It has been designed to meet the worship needs of families and others with a busy Sunday schedule. Drop in, share a mini breakfast, worship your savior, and fellowship with friends and neighbors. Your family is then invited to attend adult and children small groups at 9:00 AM.
Graduate Sunday on May 19th
During our main 10:30 service on May 19th, we will honor our high school and college graduates. We will also be entertained by our children’s choir who will presenting “Jailhouse Rock”, a special musical program. Come and bring your own family to enjoy our children and to honor our graduates.
Care Committee’s Summer Plans
The Care Committee met this past Monday and made plans for events for June, July, and August. On June 16th, which is Father’s Day, Pastor Louis will be hosting a barbeque following the 10:30 AM service. Come for food, family games, and fellowship down at the parsonage.
In July, RUMC’s Vacation Bible School will be held July 15-19 starting at 6:30 PM every evening. We will celebrate VBS Sunday for our neighborhood children and their families on Sunday, July 21st. The Care Committee will have an ice cream social reception immediately following the 10:30 AM service to conclude that celebration.
In August, the Care Committee will be celebrating a Back to School Bash in cooperation with our Hispanic Congregation and our RESTORE outreach program. The Bash will be held on Saturday, August 3rd from 10 AM until 1 PM, and it will be designed to get the children and youth ready for the new school year.
August will also see the advent of our Soda and Suds ministry—in which Care Committee members will be visiting local laundromats and offering our neighbors there money or tokens to wash and dry their clothes and also refreshments while they wait.
Look at this space for more details about these and other upcoming events.
English and Spanish GED Classes
Coming in the Fall
Lay Pastor Norma Encarnacion and RUMC is partnering with the neighborhood ECHO facility to provide English and Spanish GED classes in the fall of 2019. Enrollment for these classes will begin in August. Look in this space for more details and enrollment information.
MORE NEWS
8002 U. S. Highway 301 South, Riverview, FL 33578 813-677-5995
Download the Prayer Tree for
May 19, 2019 from this link.
Download the May, 2019
Bell Newsletter from this link.
Pastor Telcy speaking at the first 8:00 AM Worship Service in our Fellowship Hall.
Online Giving at RUMC
Giving online is easy and allows you to set up automatic recurring contributions and view your complete online giving history from anywhere you have access to the Internet. Or you can enter one-time contributions from the internet or by smart phone.
To get started, simply follow these easy steps:
- Click on the Online Giving button below. This will take you to our church’s online giving webpage.
- Click on our Create Profile button on that webpage.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring or one-time contributions.
Bible Verse for the Week
Who Can Be Against Us?
So what are we going to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He didn’t spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. Won’t he also freely give us all things with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s elect people? It is God who acquits them. Who is going to convict them? It is Christ Jesus who died, even more, who was raised, and who also is at God’s right side. It is Christ Jesus who also pleads our case for us.
Who will separate us from Christ’s love? Will we be separated by trouble, or distress, or harassment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
We are being put to death all day long for your sake.
We are treated like sheep for slaughter.
But in all these things we win a sweeping victory through the one who loved us. I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.
Romans 8:31-38 (CEB)
